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Pilot’s Recency: Two
Possible Scenarios after Aviation Takes off
By Guest
Post
Aviation Voice
The entire aviation industry is impatiently
waiting until travel restrictions are eased, borders opened and aircraft lifted
from the ground for long-awaited flights.
The return would be slow and airlines’
operations would be re-launched gradually.
Nevertheless, still a significant number of
pilots will be required to be ready to get back to their duties
immediately after aviation is given the green light to take off.
And ‘ready’ does not mean only dusting off the
uniforms and polishing Ray-Ban sunglasses.
First of all, ‘ready’ means that pilots need
to be in an excellent professional shape with their skills
brushed up.
Pilot Recency: What Does It
Mean?
Aviation is among the most regulated
industries and its safety standards are incredibly high.
Meanwhile, pilots are among the very few
professionals who must hone their skills regularly, even when
actively flying without long breaks.
And what do we have now?
Currently, the majority is stuck at home with
no practice of flying for nearly two months already.
So, it could be not that easy to cheerfully
greet ladies and gentlemen on board again.
Under regulations, pilots are required
to maintain their recency.
It is a regulatory restriction which states
that a pilot shall not operate an aircraft in commercial air transport or carry
passengers as Pilot in Command (PIC) or co-pilot unless one has completed three
take-offs and three landings in the preceding 90 days, (EASA).
This way, after a pilot is grounded for over
90 days period, the one will have to either fly these three take-offs and three
landings in an aircraft or do it in a full flight simulator (FFS).
As long as each airline is making all the
efforts to preserve cash to survive through the crisis, it is reasonable to
suppose that most of the operators will choose the less expensive
option – training in the FFS.
Meticulous Training
Planning – the Only Tool for Smooth Return
During these unprecedented times, regulatory
authorities are standing shoulder to shoulder with airlines; thus EASA
has granted a four-month extension on certain pilots’ privileges meaning
that pilots will be allowed to go through some of training and checks after
they resume flying.
This measure should help alleviate the
potential pressure placed on FFSs and possibly there would be a glut of
training as well as checking over what will hopefully be the busy summer
period.
Michael Ryan, Head of Training at BAA Training
notes that usually airlines prefer not to have pilots and crew undergoing
training over the summer if possible.
It needs to be staggered over the year and
mostly take place in the quieter winter period. However, now it is not the case
of comfortable scheduling.
According to M. Ryan, astute management and
planning will be required by airlines to effectively handle the return to
service and the training requirements.
At the moment, simulators are idle and there
are many vacant slots. But after the restrictions are lifted, there will be a
move to book this spare capacity.
Firstly, slots will be needed to renew the
recency requirements, and then to return to the airlines’ recurrent training
and checking program.
In M. Ryan’s opinion, training centres should
be fully ready to meet pilots if the return will go the way estimated.
He revealed that BAA Training, as many other
training providers, is also getting prepared for the influx of recency
candidates.
“It should be very cost-effective for
an airline to dispatch their pilots to Vilnius, Lithuania, to complete
their recency requirements, if no quarantine restrictions are made, and have
them return within a day to the parent airline”, the Head of Training at the Academy points
out.
But what if the industry will step aside this
forecast and choose to take another turn – with less capacity, less human
resources but immediate demand?
What if there is a Mass
Return to Operations?
Airlines which have their own FFS facilities
are already working on training schedules.
Airlines that do not have their own training
resources are already collaborating with simulator providers to have free slots
for their crews.
However, what if the return to operations
would be a bit bigger and the four-month breathing space provided by the EASA
would not be enough.
Eventually, this might turn into another
challenge that aviation could be met with.
“If there is a mass return to operations, it
will put a strain on the FFS services. Coupled with this, will be the travel
restrictions placed on the movement of people, which will not allow the crews
to have access to the simulators in another country”, explains M. Ryan.
In case the intake of pilots looking for
immediate training would be bigger than it is expected, it could even have a
bottleneck effect on training centres.
A higher demand hitting training centres
unexpectedly can cause many disruptions in handling the training process.
M. Ryan says that in case of problems with FFS
availability, the priority should be given to customers that have built a
relationship with the FSTD department- loyalty agreement.
According to the training expert, customers
should even have penalty clauses in the event that they cancel their training.
The reason for this is because some airlines
may place many requests with many aviation training organisations (ATO) in the
hope of getting one and then block other customers.
Worth highlighting that this fierce
competition for slots could also be joined by redundant pilots actively
seeking employment. They will need access to simulators to maintain their
license and proficiency.
Nevertheless, it is still too early to see the
clear picture of return and it is open to interpretation.
The only thing is definite – airlines and
training centres have to be ready for any scenario, either slower or mass
return.
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